PeterUK,

Perhaps you are not the most disinterested person to ask, -_^, but I have some thoughts I would like you to comment on, as you are a bit closer to the action. 1) I have the impression that the European governments are not all that representative of the people, but somewhat overfilled with professional politicians. 2) There must be an undercurrent of prejudice somewhere. Assimilation isn’t that easy. For instance, I see polls that some 60% Germans are prejudiced against the turkish population. 3) The government media, German, French, and English (BBC), have been instrumental in arousing anti-Israeli and anti-American passions, not only in Europe, but worldwide.

Apart from that, I too feel that these are uneasy times. Just waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. The Islamists are not that strong in objective terms, but the West seems totally split, even within the US. I have only a slight confidence that we can all pull together if the sh*t truly hits the propeller.